Brandon Davis earned the invitation of a lifetime, when he was invited to join Tim McGraw on his McGraw Tour 2022 earlier this year. The rising star, who had been gaining attention for his music thanks to covers he posted on TikTok, was blown away that one of his biggest musical idols wanted Davis to join him on the road.
“I don’t even know what was running through my mind at the time,” Davis tells Everything Nash with a laugh, recalling when McGraw personally called him to invite him to serve as his opening act. “I don’t know how many actual words I spoke during the conversation. You think about how those situations will play out of any imagination you might have in your mind about meeting your childhood heroes and icons that you grew up listening to or watching on TV. And Tim McGraw for me was always one of those. I sang the song — I call it ‘Barbecue Stain’ — ‘Something Like That,’ I sang ‘Something Like That’ with my mom in the car. I cannot tell you how many times until we burned out the CD that she had it on. It was just a moment that caught me off guard.”
Davis doesn’t remember much of what he said in that surprise phone call, other than he wanted to express to McGraw how eager he was to join him on the road.
“I think I said the word ‘Absolutely’ as many times as I could, just to make sure he knew that I was 100 percent in the game and ready to go,” Davis recalls. “I didn’t want to say anything but positive words to say how excited I was, but I think it was just the ramblings of a very excited individual that, if you go back and listen, there was a lot of ‘absolutely’ and ‘you bet.'”
While on the McGraw Tour 2022, which also included Russell Dickerson and Alexandra Kay, the father of four tried to glean as much as he could from the country music superstar, every chance he got.
“I was really just soaking in all the experiences that he had to share,” Davis acknowledges. “He’s had a career that most would dream to ever touch. And listening to the stories he had to share of different times he’s been out on the road, and how he found the songs that really just made his career blossom and showed who he was as an artist. Taking all that advice and saying, how can I apply this to what I’m doing? And really show people this is who I am, and here are the experiences that I want, to make sure that when I’m out on the road, I want my family to be able to have these memories. I want the band members to say, ‘You know what? I really enjoy being able to go and ride on a bus with that guy.'”
Davis also took in the encouragement McGraw gave him, about the growth and trajectory of his career.
“I think one of the biggest pieces of advice that I took from him was he said, ‘Look, you’re where you’re supposed to be,'” Davis shares. “He said, ‘I can’t tell you how you’re gonna get to the next step and where it goes from here, but you’re right where you’re supposed to be.’ And hearing that come from a man who’s been in this as long as he has, and knowing all the goals that we’ve still got to chase and reach, it really hit me in the heart.”
Davis plans on touring in 2023, and releasing new music. Keep track of updates at BrandonDavisMusic.com.
